G7 Summit – States demand Internet Giants to join forces against online propaganda

The nations participant at the G7 Summit in Taormina, Italy, demand action from internet service providers and social media giants against extremist content online.

The effort is necessary to fight against terrorism in a wake of the recent tragic Manchester attack.

“The G7 calls for Communication Service Providers and social media companies to substantially increase their efforts to address terrorist content,” the G7 states said in a statement.

“We encourage industry to act urgently in developing and sharing new technology and tools to improve the automatic detection of content promoting incitement to violence, and we commit to supporting industry efforts in this vein including the proposed industry-led forum for combating online extremism,” 

Investigators believe that the Manchester bomber may have been radicalized online by Islamic State groups active on social media.

“Make no mistake: the fight is moving from the battlefield to the internet,” Prime Minister Theresa May told her G7 colleagues while chairing a discussion on counter-terrorism in the Sicilian resort of Taormina.

Another common objective of the G7 is the identification and the prosecution of foreign fighters involved in various conflicts various areas, such as the Syria and the Turkey.

The G7 states are requesting the support from local authorities to prosecute the foreign fighters, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq are areas of high interested in the investigators.

The investigators believe that the Manchester bomber had been to Syria after visiting his parents’ homeland of Libya.

“It is vital we do more to cooperate with our partners in the region to step up returns and prosecutions of foreign fighters,” added May.

“This means improving intelligence-sharing, evidence gathering and bolstering countries’ police and legal processes.”

The G7 states have to improve information sharing processes on terrorism issued, law enforcements and intelligence agencies share results of the investigations and border security methods with countries where foreign fighters travel through or fight in.

Every time a foreign fighter cross a border, specific actions must be triggered to track down them and their organizations.

“When our allies find evidence, such as video or papers, of illegal activity involving foreign fighters, for example a Brit in a conflict zone, they should pass that to our authorities. It may help prosecute foreign fighters when they return.”